1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wiring systems and, in particular, to conduits for holding wires. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for connecting conduits to aircraft structures.
2. Background
An aircraft has many wires that extend through different parts of the fuselage, wing, and other sections of the aircraft. These wires may be used to distribute power, exchange data, or a combination of the two.
Wires that extend through the cabin of an aircraft are typically installed in a manner that hides the wires from being seen by passengers. For example, wires may extend through the crown of the cabin or under the floor of the cabin.
Further, wires may extend through different structures inside the aircraft. For example, wires may be present in monuments, such as closets, lavatories, galleys, and other types of structures.
The wires located in these and other monuments may provide power, data, or both to devices that may be present in or connected to the monuments. For example, a wire carrying electrical energy may extend into a closet to provide power to a light in the closet. As another example, a wire may extend through various closets to a station containing environmental controls.
When wires extend through monuments and other structures in the interior of the aircraft, it is desirable to reduce the visibility of these wires, protect the wires, or some combination of the two. In some cases, the structures may include channels through which the wires run. For example, a panel in a monument may have a channel through which a wire may extend. In this manner, the wire may be both protected and not visible to a passenger or other person. Although this type of conduit system for wires may be desirable, the cost for manufacturing panels with these conduits may be greater than desired.
In other cases, a raceway may be connected to the surface of the structure. A raceway is a conduit in which one or more wires may be located within the channel in the conduit. The raceway may be connected to the surface of a structure through the use of tape, fasteners, or some combination of the two.
For example, a raceway may be connected to the interior of a closet. This location reduces the visibility of the conduit, and the conduit provides protection for the wires. Currently, the installation of these raceways may be more time-consuming and tedious than desired.
Further, the raceway is connected to the surface of a structure with two-sided tape. The raceway may be further secured to the structure with a fastener system. Using these types of connection systems may be more time-consuming, expensive, and/or tedious than desired. Additionally, these types of connection systems may not hold the conduit as tight against the mating surface of the structure as desired.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.